Start of the Garden Report, almost middle of July

Now that the temperatures are regularly in the 90s, I'm not seeing new tomatoes setting fruit. That confirms what I read. I'm still getting 10, 15 or sometimes 20 ripe tomatoes a day, but those were started over a month ago. I have dispatched them summarily.


Which is fine, and now it's time to think about preparing for the winter garden. But oh, it is hard. If I were one of those morning people who could get out working by sun-up, I could be weeding, composting, and prepping beds with a fury. Yesterday I didn't get out until eleven, and it was miserable.  And don't try telling me it's all a matter of willpower and self discipline. I've tried getting up early and failed so many times that I've come to a truce with my willpower--I won't ask it to get me out of bed early, so long as it's okay when I ask it to tie on my running shoes and head out the door.


Beg pardon for the picture here--I found the most marvelously beautiful dragonfly just trying out his wings for the first time. I wanted his picture but refused to stress him out by making him pose. So this is all we get.








Okra loves this weather, and so do purple hull peas.  And here comes cantaloupe...not. The beauty below, my first fruit, was resting on wet cardboard and it molded underneath. I had to pick it early, and it was sugary sweet but tasteless.  I will watch the others like a hawk!